From Village Voice

 
Published July 19 - 25, 2000


The Birth of a Movement Table of Contents

A Selected List of Organizations
Act Up! Here's How 
by Joshua Lefkowitz

Direct Action Network
Direct Action Network (DAN) is a continental organization founded on the principles of decentralized democracy and nonviolent direct action. The New York City chapter of DAN is involved with many campaigns, among them labor rights, police brutality and the prison-industrial complex, the struggle to preserve community gardens, and the movement against genetically engineered foods. (212-358-3966, www.directactionnetwork.org

Global Exchange
Solidarity in the fight against corporate globalization means working internationally for change. Global Exchange promotes environmental, political, and social justice around the world, from Cuba to Brazil. September 26 marks a day of protest in concert with those in Prague, where the IMF and World Bank will be meeting. The rally will be followed by a grassroots lobbying blitz. (415-255-7296, www.globalexchange.org

International Forum on Globalization
IFG is a think tank that focuses on developing alternative strategies to reverse the damage of globalization and reignite local economies. On September 5, IFG will host a teach-in in New York City about the role of the United Nations in the global economy. The teach-in is intended to unmask the corporate takeover of the UN and put forth a vision for recapturing it. (415-229-9350, www.ifg.org

The Million Billionaire March
Spearheaded by United for a Fair Economy (UFE), the Million Billionaire March uses theatrical tactics and comic doublespeak to explain how money corrupts and controls the political system. This summer's march will arrive in Philadelphia on July 30 and in Los Angeles on August 14. Highlights in Philly include auctioning off the Liberty Bell and linking arms around the Federal Reserve Building to levitate the interest rate. In L.A., a march is planned for Corporate Need and Human Greed. (617-423-2148, www.billionairesforbushorgore.com

New York Biotech Action Network
NYBAN brings together people concerned about genetically engineered foods and other biotech issues. The struggle against the corporate manipulation of food is just getting under way in the U.S. There are four major campaigns: the Food Agenda 2000 Petition of Organic Consumers Association (OCA), the Franken Foods 15 Campaign, the Petition to the FDA, and Greenpeace's True Food Campaign. (212-560-7539, nyban@yahoo.com, www.greens.org/ny/biotech

New York City Independent Media Center
Part of the growing international indie media movement, IMC offers DIY frontline dispatches and noncorporate coverage of protests. (212-699-3827, www.indymedia.org

Rainforest Action Network
RAN aims to protect tropical rainforests and those who live in and around them. The group is paying particular attention these days to the connection between the U'wa people in Colombia, Occidental Petroleum, and Al Gore. (415-398-4404, www.ran.org

Roadshow
The mission of the Democracy in Motion caravan is to catalyze local support for mass mobilizations by visiting community groups nationwide. The show offers performances, activist training sessions, and grassroots education. This trip, which begins July 18 in D.C., will travel through the New England area, to Detroit and Chicago, arriving in Philadelphia on July 29 for the Republican National Convention. Then it moves west, arriving in Los Angeles on August 13 for the Democratic National Convention. (www.democracyinmotion.org

Slam!
Part of the People's Justice 2000 coalition, this is a women-of-color-led organization involved in collective campaigns against police brutality, the prison-industrial complex, and the struggle for prisoner rights. SLAM! has also been involved in the fight to keep City University affordable and open for everyone. (212-772-4261, 212-772-4257) 

United Students Against Sweatshops
USAS is the national umbrella for campus-based anti-sweatshop campaigns that have thus far convinced more than 50 schools to join the Workers' Rights Consortium—what many say is the only genuine sweatshop-monitoring organization. (http://www.umich.edu/~sole/usas/, www.workersrights.org

Upcoming Global Days of Action
September 11: Melbourne, Australia. Shut down the World Economic Forum, where conferences and cocktail parties bring together financial trade ministers and CEOs from Boeing, Citibank, Exxon-Mobil, Nike, et al. (S11.org) September 26: Prague, Czech Republic. The 55th annual conference of the IMF and World Bank is expected to attract a global opposition, as in Seattle and D.C. (S26.org

Wetlands Preserve 
This group hosts weekly "eco-salons" about the latest news and campaigns relating to the rainforests, human rights, the North American wilderness, and animal rights. (212-966-4831, www.wetlands-preserve.org/activismcenter.html
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